In 2019, Macao tourism companies reported more than 39.4 million visitors, an increase of 10.1% over the previous year. This is a new record for the city, according to official figures released by the Macanese government.
Last year, the former territory administered by Portugal was visited by 39.406.181 people, a number close to 40 million, according to the Statistics and Census Services (DSEC). The vast majority of visitors come from mainland China: more than 27 million visitors, an increase of 10.5% compared to 2018.
In 2019, Macao welcomed 7.3 million visitors from Hong Kong, an annual growth of 16.2%, and more than one million visitors from Taiwan, 0.2% more than in 2018. On the other hand, visitors from South Korea (743.026), the United States (199.800) and Australia (84,030) declined compared to the numbers of 2018.
Last year, 18.4% of visitors arriving by land used the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (5.381.058), inaugurated at the end of 2018 and considered the largest sea crossing in the world, according to the DSEC. In 2019, the number of hikers (20.773.482) and tourists (18.632.699) grew by 20.0% and 0.8% respectively. In relation to the average periods of stay of visitors (1.2 days), tourists (2.2 days) and hikers (0.2 days), these remained identical to 2018.
Despite the sharp annual growth, in December Macao tourism authorities reported a drop in the number of visitors: in the last month of the year, Macao received 3.083.406 visitors, down 13.6% in annual terms, the DSEC revealed. During that period, the number of hikers (1.607.764) and tourists (1.475.642) fell by 12.1% and 15.3% respectively.
For this year, the Macau tourism office expects a further drop in the number of tourists. The projected decrease amounts to 3%. The office, however, plans to fight the expectations and focus on the promotion of intelligent tourism development, gastronomy, on improving the quality of services, and on the inauguration of the Macao Grand Prix Museum.